Saturday, September 20, 2014

Land of a Hundred Wonders

Land of a Hundred Wonders
Lesley Kagen

Land of a Hundred Wonders

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from the publisher):  The summer Gibby McGraw catches her big break, the cicadas are humming, and it's so warm even the frogs are sweating. Brain damaged after a tragic car accident that took both her parents, Gibby is now NQR (Not Quite Right), a real challenge for a fledgling newspaper reporter. Especially when she stumbles upon the dead body of the next governor of Kentucky, Buster Malloy.

Armed with her trusty blue spiral note-book, Gibby figures that solving the murder might be her best chance to prove to everyone that she can become Quite Right again. But she gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a world of corruption, racism, and family secrets in small town Cray Ridge. Lucky for her, she's also about to discover that some things are far more important than all the brains in the world, and that miracles occur in the most unexpected moments.


Review:   This was an interesting book, written from the perspective of a young woman with brain damage.  Because of her NQR status, Gibby easily forgets recent events and needs to be reminded, either by her friends or the notebook that she keeps to jot down stories for her newspaper.  While Gibby's forgetfulness is an important part of her character and the story, and is, perhaps, what makes this book so unique and popular with others, I had such a hard time following what was going on that it served as a major distraction.  I was much more interested in the quirky supporting characters and their stories than in the main plot of the book, which was disjointed and somehow lacking in importance.  Maybe this book would have worked better for me if I could have read it all in one or two sittings, rather than in fragments throughout the week.  But with that major complaint out of the way....  The characters in this book, with all their foibles and issues, were charming and delightful, and I would have loved to read more about their lives -- I just didn't care about the mystery that was supposed to be the central plot.

Rating: 3.5 stars

No comments:

Post a Comment